Chapter Four: The Price of a Song

He could finally afford every lens he had once coveted, but rarely used an ordinary camera. Lin Wan entered Exposure Four in her chart. Under beneficiary she wrote Tang Qi. Under victim, she wrote the same name. “At least it didn't take a stranger this time,” Shen Yan said. “You have started treating that as good news.” The doorbell interrupted them. Outside sat a wooden box, though their address had never been released. Inside were a 1927 theater stub and developed film showing the school auditorium from an impossible point above the stage. Tiny silver circles marked every face except Lin Wan's, which had been crossed out. Words were carved in Gu Changzhou's hand: SECRETS ARE NOT TICKETS. THEY ARE BILLS DUE. I WILL COLLECT THE FOURTH MYSELF.